Comparison of Leishmania typing results obtained from 16 European clinical laboratories in 2014

Gert Van der Auwera, Aldert Bart, Carmen Chicharro, Sofia Cortes, Leigh Davidsson, Trentina Di Muccio, Jean-Claude Dujardin, Ingrid Felger, Maria Grazia Paglia, Felix Grimm, Gundel Harms, Charles L. Jaffe, Monika Manser, Christophe Ravel, Florence Robert-Gangneux, Jeroen Roelfsema, Seray Töz, Jaco J Verweij, Peter L Chiodini

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

31 Citations (Scopus)
23 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Leishmaniasis is endemic in southern Europe, and in other European countries cases are diagnosed in travellers who have visited affected areas both within the continent and beyond. Prompt and accurate diagnosis poses a challenge in clinical practice in Europe. Different methods exist for identification of the infecting Leishmania species. Sixteen clinical laboratories in 10 European countries, plus Israel and Turkey, conducted a study to assess their genotyping performance. DNA from 21 promastigote cultures of 13 species was analysed blindly by the routinely used typing method. Five different molecular targets were used, which were analysed with PCR-based methods. Different levels of identification were achieved, and either the Leishmania subgenus, species complex, or actual species were reported. The overall error rate of strains placed in the wrong complex or species was 8.5%. Various reasons for incorrect typing were identified. The study shows there is considerable room for improvement and standardisation of Leishmania typing. The use of well validated standard operating procedures is recommended, covering testing, interpretation, and reporting guidelines. Application of the internal transcribed spacer 1 of the rDNA array should be restricted to Old World samples, while the heat-shock protein 70 gene and the mini-exon can be applied globally.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)30418-30429
Number of pages11
JournalEuro Surveillance
Volume21
Issue number49
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 8 Dec 2016

Keywords

  • Leishmaniasis
  • Typing
  • hsp70
  • rDNA ITS1
  • Mini-exon
  • Kinetoplast DNA

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Comparison of Leishmania typing results obtained from 16 European clinical laboratories in 2014'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this